Beauty in the Breakdown
by SteneMichele
Summary: Rosalie and Emmett's POV: "Hell's not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you." The story of the first time Rosalie laid eyes on Emmett, and vice versa.
1. The Bear

After an hour of mindless stumbling around in the woods, I was lost. I shouldn't have been out there alone anyway. Especially in my condition. Drunk and lost do not coincide well. I couldn't hear the music from the campground, and I kept tripping over tree roots. Normally I wasn't like this. A drink of brandy every now and then, if my father let me, but never so incredibly intoxicated. I should have seen it coming. It had been a long day of hunting, and when Blaine turned on the music and began swigging down those bottles...

But how did I end up here? Somewhere along I must have gone for a walk... yes, that was it. I had said I needed quiet for a minute. But it was close to an hour now. I doubt Blaine and Winston would worry; they probably wouldn't notice if the forest lit up in flames.

And then I saw it. It was big, much too big. My 52 caliber rifle would not harm it. And I was not hunting anyway- just taking a walk. It was a bear. A wolf, even. Judging by its size though, I would say a bear. I was too drunk to comprehend the danger in the situation, so I collapsed onto a tree stump and rested my chin in my hands. I was an experienced hunter, but I didn't trust my shaky hands to press the trigger. And maybe the bear would turn around and walk away, simply ignoring me... I must have been really drunk if I had considered that a possibility.

The bear came much too close for comfort. I was tempted to run away, but I wasn't fast. I was brawny, but the strongest man on Earth couldn't fight off a grizzly. My heart picked up a beat. For a second, I considered shouting for help, but that would just lure the others into danger. I was going to die. My poor sister. My poor parents.

"Steady now," I muttered, giving myself over to instincts. With barely noticeable movements, I reached for my gun. If anything, the bullet would just make the animal mad, but I wasn't the kind of person to go down without a fight. I steadied the gun, preparing to shoot. The bear's dark eyes bore into my green ones. They were menacing.

First, a devastating blow struck my chest. My head jerked back into the stiff bark of the tree. There was no pain. I was too thunderstruck to feel anything, let alone a feeling as strong as pain. I could not breathe. I could only watch as the animal- the monster- let out a deafening roar of its own. It shook the forest ground that I was laying on.

And then the pain began. I let out an impulsive shout that seemed to echo the bear's. The blood was seeping through my hunting jacket, but the bear was no where in sight. The pain doubled in the absence of my attacker. It was spreading quickly throughout my body, and the tendons in my muscles seemed to have exploded. I could not feel the refreshing humidity of the forest. I could not see the stars that occasionally glimmered through the openings in the forest canopy. I could not hear the joyous music from the campground.

If this was death, then it was anything but peaceful. It was painful. If I could move, talk or think, it would be in screams. Long, drawn-out bawls or short, abrupt shouts, I did not know which. I did know that it was the only action that I could even register in my mind right now.

I was beginning to feel the first symptoms of unconsciousness. I welcomed the thought greatly. What a relief it would be- falling away from the pain.

And then I was flying. The ground was disappearing beneath me, and the pain had subsided slightly. Maybe it was the air in the wounds, because it was definitely still there. And then I realized that I wasn't flying. I was being carried.

She was blonde. She was pale. She was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen. My angel...


	2. The Angel

"Carlisle," I muttered desperately, though there was no hope of him hearing. Even so, saying his name reminded me of why I should not just drink the curly-haired boy's blood right now. If my own morals were not enough to keep the boy alive, then certainly my loyalty to Carlisle was. The blood smelled better than anything I had ever smelled, after all. And nobody would know... besides Edward. Sometimes I felt that my brother existed only to make my half-life miserable.

I was running faster than I had ever run before. My legs were not visible as they moved at the speed of a hummingbird's wings. The boy- he weighed nothing in my arms. I did hate being a vampire, but there were perks. I was more beautiful than ever before. Still, as vain as I was, even this small encouragement did not persuade me completely that it was worth it to live forever.

I could not think of the boy's blood, so I stared down at his face as I ran. He had radiant green eyes that were barely visible as his eyelids drooped down in pain. He was tan, with dark brown curls. Just like Vera's little boy, Henry. This thought consoled me. I didn't remember much from my human life, but I did remember the admiration that I had for Vera's family. What a sweet child, that Henry. The boy that I was carrying had that same captivating innocence, though he was the size of a twenty-year-old. He was handsome, too, though in a childish way. Eclipsed by the captivating scent of his blood, there was the faint odor of whiskey.

Though this boy looked much more respectable than my human attackers, the thought of drunken men was still enough to send shivers up my spine.

About fifteen minutes from the outskirts of Forks, I gave in to my thirst. Not at the boy's expense, of course. I laid him down on the river bed and tracked down a herd of elk in a matter of seconds. They were sickening, but enough to quench my thirst. It would keep me strong enough to resist the boy, if anything.

I returned to see the boy had rolled over on his stomach. I kneeled down at his side, afraid to touch him and feel the warm pulse of blood. With what looked like all of the energy that he had left in him, he turned towards me and opened his mouth slowly, as if preparing to say something.

"Are you all right?" he muttered in a low, beautiful voice. I blinked, bemused. Humans were so odd sometimes. And yet, what I wouldn't do to be one of them...

"Shouldn't I be asking you that question?" I whispered, after I had gotten over the initial shock of his bizarre statement. The boy moaned in pain as he attempted to sit up. The sight of him in agony stirred my long dormant heart.

"I was just curious, because it must have hurt falling down from Heaven like that," he said light-heartedly. All that I could do was stare. I was used to attention from men, but this corny statement was the only one that had ever penetrated my icy shield. The boy was staring at me, waiting for a response. I bit my stone lip. The boy's innocent demeanor made me curious, but he was losing blood by the minute. In fact, he was slipping out of consciousness as we spoke.

"Maybe you should talk to me when you're capable of walking," I muttered, too dumbfounded to think of a clever response. The boy let out a short laugh as I leaned down.

"Are you going to carry me?" he asked, completely lost as I prepared to lift him up. There was no point in putting on an act now; he would figure it out eventually.

"Would you like to walk the next five miles?" I snapped, raising him into my arms. He grunted, but it was effortless to me. And I ran.

Somewhere in the woods, he drifted back into unconsciousness. Edward must have heard me coming and warned Carlisle, because my vampire father was waiting outside the house. I didn't explain anything as Carlisle took the boy from my arms and ran into the house, with me just inches behind. He brought him into the library, an odd choice of rooms. I didn't question him, however, as Carlisle closed his eyes and immediately became Dr. Cullen.

"Rosalie, did you see the animal?" he demanded.

"A grizzly," I replied quickly. Carlisle sighed, shaking his head. I barely noticed Edward and Esme in the doorway; they had smelled the blood.

"Esme, your belt," Carlisle said, holding out his hand. Esme's belt was in his hand before I saw her take it off.

"His name?" Esme asked meekly, trembling from the smell of blood. She always liked to know the names of humans- it was her way of resisting.

"Go, Esme," Carlisle muttered, "Edward, if it's too much... and Rosalie, you should go." Edward and Esme were running towards the river as soon as Carlisle had spoken, but I had rushed forward.

"No," I replied instinctively, "Please, he'll be frightened when he wakes." Carlisle shook his head.

"What do you expect, Rosalie?" Carlisle demanded, "I don't know what you want me to do to him." My jaw dropped. Was he serious?

"Carlisle, you changed me," I whispered in a small voice, "I was- I was bleeding and you saved me. You saved Edward and- and Esme. Please, save him." I didn't know why I was so fixated by the thought of this boy. All I knew was he couldn't die.

"If I saved everybody who was on their deathbed, Rose," Carlisle sighed, shaking his head at the thought. I grabbed his arm, turning him to face me.

"Please," I whispered. And then, Carlisle must have seen something in my eyes that made him decide. I watched as the most beautiful person that I had ever seen was saved from death right before my eyes.

And suddenly, immortality was the best gift that I had ever received.


End file.
